27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Family Movie, October 3, 2000
This review is from: Miracle in Milan [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This is one of those films that really make you feel good.
It's the story of a young orphan who is forced to move to a shanty town in bomb-wrecked, post-WWII Milan.
The people who now live in those precarious tar-paper shacks are depicted as everyday people who have lost the lives they had made for themselves. Being an honest, good-natured kind of guy, the orphan soon finds himself surrounded by friends. The film is very clear on the point that the vast majority of conflicts can be settled with some commonsense and a bit of goodwill on both sides.
But there is a down side to this and the film is worldly-wise enough to point it out: the squatters represent a cross-section of society and class prejudice, selfishness and naked ambition are just as present as anywhere else. When an important oil company decides to purchase the ground beneath the shanty-town, there are those that try to get in good with the company and there are those that decide to stick together and hold out.
There are some funny, whimsical bits where magic is used against the company men and policemen who have come to evict the remaining squatters and finally, the poor fly off to a land which the film describes as a place where "Good Morning" really DOES mean "Good Morning". In other words, to a place where people are friendly and above all, sincere.
The film has a nice "Christmasey" feel and in fact, it's fairly standard Italian Christmas TV fare in much the same way as "It's A Wonderful Life" in the USA. It'd be OK to watch with kids and the grown-ups would get to watch something a little bit more interesting than the usual kiddie film.
"Miracle In Milan" demonstrates a firm belief in honest worth no matter what its external appearance may be and an unshakeable conviction in an ultimate reward for goodness, sentiments which it's hard to disagree with.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Di Seca's best, July 5, 2000
This review is from: Miracle in Milan [VHS] (VHS Tape)
If any film can top The Bicycle Theif and Umberto D, it's Miracle in Milan. Di Seca flexes his fantasy muscles in this visual tour de force. The story surrounds a boy who's found in a cabbage patch by an old woman. Later, the old woman dies and the boy is forced to live in a sort of "homeless habitat" whose members he teaches to read and write and rise up against an evil tycoon set to destroy their homes. Through its own unique absurdity and humor, the film is absolutely magical. A must-see for fans of Roberto Benini.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow!, May 30, 2005
This review is from: Miracle in Milan [VHS] (VHS Tape)
If your soul needs nourishment--this film will help. If you've lost your soul, this film might give you a clue to where to find it. If you have no soul, you probably will be bored: go elsewhere.
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